Judge flags Facebook post claiming inside access to Trump verdict
Judge flags Facebook post claiming inside access to Trump verdict
Judge Merchan says the poster claims to be a cousin of a juror with inside knowledge of the outcome.
The US judge overseeing Donald Trump's hush-money case in New York City has written a letter to prosecutors and the former president's defence team about a Facebook post in which a person claims to have known the jury's decision before it became public.
Justice Juan Merchan's letter says that on Friday "the court became aware of a comment" on the court's Facebook page, "now labeled as one week old" from a user named "Michael Anderson".
"My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted," the post says, according to the judge. "Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!"
BBC News has not verified the post, which has been deleted, or the claims allegedly made within it.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office and Todd Blanche, Trump's lead attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.
"According to US media, the post was made by a now-deleted account that regularly trolls the social media pages of the New York court system."
Hopefully this is true and nothing comes of it.
123When was the account created, I wonder. Just in time for the trial? Created in order to do this very thing and disrupt the trial?
15
Prediction: this will be the basis of their appeal.
If I'm wrong, I shall record the fry-up and consumption of a delicious bratwurst.
59Yeah look you should do a practice run on that, just in case
15It's never a bad day for bratwurst, hey??
13
And if you're right, you're still eating that bratwurst, right?
9What happens off-camera stays off-camera
2
It's a bit premature to be making that prediction. If no further evidence comes forth that it isn't a random shitposter, then it's a complete nothingwurst.
7No need to appeal if this is true. The judge will more than likely have to declare a mistrial
2If this is true that may have been the whole intent of the comment.
4
I don't get it? What is the news here. Someone made a random post on Facebook? Surely a million others also posted with blind certainty that he was going to be convicted, just as a few other millioka must have posted he wouldn't. What makes this instance different? Is this the glitch to get out of jail free? Just rob a bank and ask your cousins to make a post saying he know you'll be convicted!
15If the claim in the comment is true it means a juror broke the secrecy rules, and this could make it a mistrial, essentially. I'm guessing they need to find this commenter and work out if what they were saying is true or if it was a troll.
20For fuck sake.... This cannot be the first time someone trolls the court. So anytime sometime happens just make a fake account to plant doubt and go for a mistrial. Like 5mins and a VPN and anyone can get off Scott free if you can afford a lawyer to move for a mistrial. Like fuck this shit.
Stop giving this man outs, stop making a joke of the justice system.
10
It has already been debunked by MeidasTouch.
7Annnnnnd there it is, folks. This is how he worms out of this situation.
-3Is this person verifiably their cousin?not likely.
3Doesn't need to be their actual cousin. All it takes is some greased palms and fudged paperwork, and anyone could be related to one of the jurors. Given all his trump bullshit, I would not put it past him and his cult of cronies to do that or something similar.
-3